No matter how much Yuanxi scolded him, Xiao Du remained completely unconcerned, only lying comfortably in her bedding with expectant gleams in his smiling eyes, quite clearly meaning: you call me a scoundrel, and I’ll be a scoundrel to the end.

Yuanxi glared at him until her eyes were tired, but that man’s face was thicker than city walls. He brazenly refused to get up, leaving her at a loss for what to do with him. So she put on a stern face and walked to the bedside to reason with him, but was caught completely off guard when he suddenly yanked her down, and in the blink of an eye she was pinned beneath him.

His mischievously smiling face was right before her, his burning breath hitting her face entirely, making the atmosphere instantly become intimately ambiguous.

Yuanxi’s heart beat so fast it nearly jumped from her chest. She quickly turned her face away, using both hands and feet to push him off. In their struggle, the bed frame creaked loudly. Nanny Li in the outer room heard the commotion, got up and knocked on the door, asking with concern: “Miss, is something wrong? Do you need us to come in?”

Yuanxi was startled and quickly steadied herself, calling out with feigned calm: “Nothing’s wrong, I just had a nightmare. You go back to sleep, no need to come in.”

Nanny Li scratched her head, somewhat strangely said “Oh,” and finally put on her clothes and went back to bed.

Hearing the footsteps outside fade away, Yuanxi finally exhaled in relief, feeling her palms hot with nervous sweat. Looking up, she saw Xiao Du grinning mischievously, whispering close to her ear: “Let them catch us if they catch us. We’re husband and wife – what’s there to be ashamed of?”

Yuanxi grew angry and simply bit down hard on his earlobe. Xiao Du was caught off guard by the pain and nearly cried out, then lost his guard and was kicked to the edge of the bed by her.

Yuanxi quickly pulled a quilt over herself, wrapping herself tightly, then turned her back to him, saying angrily: “Sleep separately. If you dare come over again, I really won’t pay attention to you anymore.”

Seeing she was truly angry, Xiao Du could only reluctantly lie back down, looking aggrieved like a spurned little wife.

In the darkness, only the sound of rising and falling breathing remained, but actually neither could sleep, both staring wide-eyed through this rather difficult long night. After a while, Xiao Du gently tugged at Yuanxi’s hair, calling tentatively: “Yuanxi…”

Yuanxi closed her eyes, determined not to respond to him. Xiao Du frowned and said pitifully: “Yuanxi… my leg hurts again.”

Yuanxi buried her head in the quilt, forcing herself to harden her heart, saying in a muffled voice: “Bear with it yourself.”

Xiao Du pitifully curled up his body. After a while, he called again: “Yuanxi… I’m cold!”

Yuanxi’s tone remained cold and hard: “There are more quilts in the wardrobe. If you’re cold, go get them yourself.”

Xiao Du sighed and still didn’t give up, calling: “Yuanxi…”

Yuanxi was really getting annoyed by his pestering, turning to glare at him: “What exactly do you want!”

Xiao Du stared into her eyes, curving his lips in a smile, saying softly: “I just want to look at you. Just being able to see you is enough.”

Yuanxi’s face suddenly reddened. She bit her lower lip, not yet having time to speak when Xiao Du had already taken the opportunity to slip into her quilt, saying gently: “Two people hugging together won’t be cold.”

His seductive, husky voice made Yuanxi momentarily confused. Before she could react, she was already tightly embraced in his arms. His hard chest pressed closely against her softness, and through the thin undergarments, even the slightest friction sent sparks flying, making them both remember things they shouldn’t remember.

Yuanxi felt her whole body burning hot and was about to struggle when Xiao Du pressed her head firmly, his voice dark and hoarse: “Don’t move. I just want to hold you. If you move again, I won’t be able to restrain myself.”

Yuanxi’s mind felt dizzy and heavy. Really having no way to deal with him, she could only lie obediently in his embrace. Two hearts beat violently together, the surroundings so heated they seemed ready to ignite at any moment.

In the misty night, the body in his arms was warm and beautiful. Xiao Du restrained himself again and again, but the hand resting on her waist finally began to grow restless, desire flowing through his abdomen ready to explode, finally guiding him to slide toward the place he had always yearned for.

Yuanxi was being held by him in a daze when she was suddenly successfully ambushed by him. Her body trembled violently, and what should have been a cry of alarm only became a soft moan, then all curses and moans were blocked in her mouth by him. Her tongue was gently guided by his, dissolving countless longings and laments in this tender entanglement.

Only after kissing until the air in her lungs was nearly exhausted did Xiao Du satisfyingly release her lips. Yuanxi was both ashamed and angry, raising her hand to push him while panting: “You! You don’t keep your word!”

But Xiao Du was no longer satisfied with just lingering between her lips and teeth. While skillfully following her curves downward, he said vaguely: “I’m only kissing you, not doing anything else.”

He was far too familiar with her body. Every conquest could elicit her pleasurable trembling. Yuanxi bit her lips hard, trying to suppress the moans almost escaping her lips, cursing in her heart: “Big liar, is this the posture of ‘not doing anything’?” But her body had already become a pool of spring water, no longer able to resist his inch-by-inch kneading and grinding.

So, as the breathing in the room grew heavier, what should be kissed was kissed, and what shouldn’t be done was also done without exception.

Finally, the breathing in the room gradually calmed. Yuanxi blushed as she straightened her clothes, then looked back at the culprit with his sneaky smile, gritting her teeth: “For a dignified Marquis Xuanyuan, you’re truly shameless and roguish!”

But Xiao Du turned over and pressed down on her again, catching her fingers and gently nibbling them in his mouth while saying: “Don’t worry, I’m only roguish toward you alone, and I’m going to be roguish to you for a lifetime.”

Yuanxi felt her fingertips tingle from his nibbling, but her gaze still glared fiercely at him: “It’s almost dawn, why don’t you leave quickly.”

Xiao Du looked longingly at her cheeks still flushed with color. Though her misty eyes carried anger, they had a special charm. He couldn’t help becoming somewhat entranced again, feeling that at this moment, even mountains of swords and seas of fire couldn’t make him leave her for a moment. So he gently brushed away the damp hair hanging over her eyebrows, then tenderly kissed her forehead, the corners of her eyes, until he returned to her cherry lips, murmuring: “It’s not dawn yet, we still have time.”

Yuanxi was entangled by him again, alarmed in her heart: Could he still want to… But he had already proven her guess with action, his warm palms beginning to roam, once again lighting fires on her body until they spread and burned completely between them.

When the first ray of dawn shone through the window lattice onto the layers of curtains, the bed that had creaked all night finally returned to quiet again. A strand of black hair slipped down from a strong neck, intertwining with the scattered dark silk on the pillow. Seeing the person beside her finally sleeping satisfyingly, Yuanxi was tormented until her whole body ached, without even the strength left to glare at him.

Just then, knocking sounds of “dong dong dong” came from outside the door. Nanny Li called loudly: “Miss, Seventh Concubine has come, saying she’s waiting to have breakfast with you.”

Yuanxi’s eyes flew open, only then remembering she had arranged to dine with Seventh Concubine this morning. She looked at the person sleeping soundly beside her, quickly and urgently waking him up in both anger and haste, using her eyes to signal him to hurry and put on his clothes.

Xiao Du drowsily opened his eyes. Before understanding what was happening, he was pulled out of the quilt by her. The warm, fragrant softness in his arms became cold robes, making him frown and hiss uncomfortably.

Yuanxi quickly put her finger to her lips to signal him to be quiet, then cleared her throat and called out: “I know. Don’t come in yet, I’ll come out after I’m ready.”

Xiao Du resentfully tied his robes, muttering very dissatisfiedly: “I’m your family’s legitimate son-in-law. Why make it seem like I’m having an affair?”

Yuanxi blushed thinking of last night. She had clearly made up her mind to distance herself from him first, so how had she inexplicably ended up sleeping with him again? She only blamed herself for being too weak-willed, carelessly falling under his spell.

She patted her flushed cheeks and said in a low voice: “Hurry and put on your clothes, then leave through the window. Behind my courtyard, turn left and there’s a side gate. There usually aren’t many guards there, and it’s still early now. If you go that way, you shouldn’t be discovered.”

Xiao Du felt even more uncomfortable, glaring: “Why should I sneak away? If I’m leaving, I should leave openly and take you with me.”

Yuanxi feared he would delay further and Nanny Li might come in at any moment. Anxious until her eyes reddened: “Xiao Du, what we did last night was already inappropriate. When we haven’t even thought things through clearly, how can we just confusedly go back with you?”

Xiao Du was afraid she would cry and could only repeatedly coax: “Alright, alright, I’ll do whatever you say.”

So with a belly full of reluctance, he could only do as she said and jump out the window, limping around to the back of the courtyard, then carefully avoiding the mansion’s guards and slinking out through the side gate.

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he felt. With a gloomy expression, he walked to a dark alley where a carriage with blue curtains was parked. He stepped forward and lifted the curtain to see Xiao Chun sleeping soundly inside. Drowsily opening his eyes to see his lord had returned, he immediately jumped up excitedly: “My lord, you’ve finally returned! I was afraid something had happened to you!”

Xiao Du got in the carriage with a stern face, pursing his lips: “With my skills, what could happen!”

Xiao Chun looked him up and down. Seeing that he had been away all night, though his face was gloomy, there was spring in his eyes, he immediately understood what had happened. He couldn’t help but admire that his master was indeed his master – such high efficiency in handling affairs. Both delighted and excited in his heart, he quickly looked outside and asked: “Where is Madam? Why hasn’t she come out yet?”

Xiao Du uncomfortably cleared his throat: “She said she wants to stay at her family home for a few more days and will return with me later.”

Xiao Chun’s admiring gaze immediately turned sympathetic. So his master had worked busily all night with his injuries but still hadn’t coaxed Madam back. It seemed his lord’s technique wasn’t quite up to par.

Xiao Du, unaware of his thoughts, only instructed the driver to hurry back to the mansion. Xiao Chun frowned and hesitated for a long time before finally making up his mind, moving close to Xiao Du and whispering: “I recently obtained the newest manual of one hundred and eight techniques. Would my lord like to take it to study? It might be useful next time.”

Xiao Du didn’t react at first, staring at him with an expression that shifted between clear and stormy. When he finally understood, a miserable scream immediately came from the carriage, the piercing cry echoing in the dark alley, lingering endlessly…